Latest news with #missions
Mid East Info
5 hours ago
- Business
- Mid East Info
Dubai Chamber of Commerce highlights promising expansion opportunities for local companies in Caucasus and Southeast Asia regions
Session hosted as part of preparations for chamber's upcoming trade missions to Armenia, Georgia, Malaysia, and Cambodia during H2 2025 • Salem Al Shamsi: 'We remain committed to empowering the local business community to capitalise on promising opportunities in global markets and drive sustainable growth and expansion.' • The event attracted more than 160 participants and highlighted key business, trade, and investment opportunities. Dubai, United Arab Emirates – Dubai Chamber of Commerce, one of the three chambers operating under Dubai Chambers, has successfully hosted its latest 'In Focus' session, providing Dubai-based companies with comprehensive insights on expansion opportunities in Armenia, Georgia, Malaysia, and Cambodia. The event was held in the presence of H.E. Eng. Sultan bin Saeed Al Mansoori, Chairman of Dubai Chambers; H.E. Giorgi Janjgava, Ambassador of Georgia to the United Arab Emirates; H.E. Sman Manan, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Kingdom of Cambodia to Kuwait, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, and Bahrain; together with H.E. Mohamed Fadly Amri Aliaman, Consul General of Malaysia in Dubai; H.E. Artak Avetisyan, Consul General of the Republic of Armenia in Dubai; and H.E. Mohammad Ali Rashed Lootah, President and CEO of Dubai Chambers. The event, which attracted more than 160 participants, highlighted key trade and investment opportunities, market entry processes, and effective strategies for achieving sustainable growth in the four target markets. Salem Al Shamsi, Vice President of International Relations at Dubai Chambers, commented: 'We remain committed to empowering the local business community to capitalise on promising opportunities in global markets and achieve sustainable growth and expansion by leveraging Dubai's unique strengths as an international business hub. In doing so, we contribute to enhancing the competitiveness of the private sector and accelerating the growth of the emirate's non-oil foreign trade.' The session featured a detailed presentation outlining Dubai Chamber of Commerce's efforts to support the international expansion of Dubai-based companies, with a particular emphasis on key business opportunities available in Armenia, Georgia, Malaysia, and Cambodia. This was followed by a panel discussion focused on the trade and investment landscapes of the four countries. Dubai Chamber of Commerce's In Focus sessions are designed to provide in-depth market intelligence and tailored recommendations to support companies at every stage of their international expansion journey. This includes timely market insights, practical advice on business setup, and guidance on establishing a presence and forming strategic joint ventures in the targeted countries. These sessions serve as a precursor to the chamber's 'New Horizons' initiative, which offers Dubai-based companies the opportunity to participate in carefully selected trade missions and networking events in priority markets to explore investment prospects and build strategic business partnerships.
Japan Today
8 hours ago
- Science
- Japan Today
In Norway's Arctic, meteorologists have a first-row seat to climate change
To reach the remote Bjornoya (Bear Island), meteorologists have to fly in by helicopter for their six-month stay By Olivier Morin and Johanna Wastfelt In the cold of the Norwegian Arctic, meteorologist Trond Robertsen manually recorded precipitation levels for over two decades, witnessing firsthand the effects of climate change. At 66, Robertsen retired after enduring spartan conditions during missions that totaled eight years on two islands of the Svalbard archipelago: Bjornoya (Bear Island) and Hogen. To reach the remote Bjornoya, where the only humans are the nine employees of the small weather station, the meteorologists have to fly in by helicopter as they are rotated on a six-month basis. "The idea is to not stay too long, because it's a different rhythm, and you are isolated," Robertsen told AFP. It is demanding work. "It's a 24/7 occupation," he said. "We are doing it all day, all night." The team worked shifts to cover all hours of the day, he explained. Weather observation starts in the early morning at 6:00 am. "It's manually done, then you have to go outside and check the bucket that is collecting precipitation," said Robertsen. "During wintertime you have to melt the snow and ice into water" to determine how much has fallen. The data is then transmitted the Norwegian Meteorological Institute in Tromso and Oslo. "This tiny little observation is actually quite crucial for the weather forecasting systems up north, because observations are so sparse from that area." Bjornoya sits in the middle of fishing grounds, and the weather reports published twice a day are closely followed by the fishing boats in the area. Since his first missions to the Arctic in the 1990s, Robertsen has witnessed the changing climate. "When I started going up north, there was a lot of ice. In the later years, it's less ice and fewer polar bears. You can see the climate change," he said. Polar bears have been classified as a vulnerable population since 1982 on the IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature) Red List of Threatened Species, with the loss of Arctic sea ice the most pressing threat against the species. However, their precise numbers, are almost impossible to assess. In winter, employees of station always venture out in pairs and have to be armed due to the presence of polar bears, but according to Robertsen it's rarer to encounter them today. In April, during his last mission to the island, Robertsen had an accident while doing carpentry: he slipped and ended up cutting one finger clean off and half of another. Due to tough weather conditions, he had to wait some 26 hours before being evacuated by helicopter and transported to a hospital. "It was a heavy snowstorm coming in, only the day after the helicopter came," he recounted. Looking back, Robertsen does not regret the years spent under the austere living conditions. "The Arctic has given me so many experiences and memories so it is a small fee to pay back with my left little finger and part of my ring finger," he said. © 2025 AFP
Indian Express
a day ago
- Science
- Indian Express
Shubhanshu Shukla's space odyssey: A glimpse into what the future holds for India
The sight of a beaming Shubhanshu Shukla at the International Space Station (ISS) has to be one of the most indelible images of our time. Shukla's journey opens a new chapter in India's space programme — the era of human space travel. It builds upon a series of extremely impressive achievements of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) in the past decade or so, each of which resulted in it acquiring several critical new capabilities. Human spaceflight capability is the next achievement in this line. The fact that Shukla's journey has not come on India's own mission does not take anything away from the significance of this moment. The value of his feat is a little different not just from the other first-time astronauts on the Axiom-4 mission, but also from many other astronauts who have been to space on similar missions earlier. That's because it is not a one-off incident — it's the beginning of a process. Shukla himself put it aptly when he said it was not the beginning of his journey but the beginning of India's human spaceflight programme. So far, citizens from about 50 countries have been to space. But just three countries actually have the capacity to send humans to space — the United States, Russia and China. Very soon, India will be the fourth. Shukla could very well have been on an Indian mission, powered by an Indian rocket and travelling in an Indian spacecraft. In fact, this is how it was meant to be. He, along with three others, were selected as astronauts for an Indian mission. The fact that the Axiom-4 mission materialised ahead of India's Gaganyaan mission provided an excellent opportunity for ISRO to gain first-hand experience in space travel. This mission will lead to a lot of learnings not just for Shukla but also for ISRO that will be directly applicable to the crewed missions of Gaganyaan, the first of which is now scheduled for 2027. ISRO did well to grab this opportunity as it prepares to acquire its own human spaceflight capability. This is not the only reason this mission is significant for India. The space sector has been going through a very exciting phase and is witnessing hectic activity. Private players, particularly in the US, are entering the field in a big way, and there has been a proliferation of space-based assets. The lower Earth orbits — 200 km to 2,000 km from the Earth — are the most active regions, primarily for commercial reasons. This is where most of the satellites and other assets are deployed. The ISS is also located in this band. The longer-term goal seems to be to leave this area largely to private players to exploit for commercial activities and service the growing need for space-based data for applications on Earth. National space agencies can then focus their energies on more ambitious projects, like creating long-term settlements on the Moon, and possibly Mars. Human spaceflight capability is a crucial element of these plans. The US and China are aggressively advancing their plans for the Moon. India cannot afford to be left behind. The lunar surface is now seen as fit for resource extraction and as a platform to venture deeper into space. Soon, missions to the Moon, including crewed missions, will become as routine as satellite launches are today. Not having human spaceflight capabilities would make India dependent on other countries, and slow down its own plans for the Moon. Having this capability has other advantages as well. Space is a sector that has seen close cooperation even between bitter political rivals like the US and Russia. The ISS is a very good example of it. But this can happen only when both sides bring useful capabilities to the table. It is a recognition of ISRO's capabilities that NASA has entered into a strategic partnership with it, which includes cooperation on human spaceflight missions. India's participation in the Axiom-4 mission was a result of this. It opens up the possibility of more India-US joint human space missions in the future. ISRO was not a passive participant in the Axiom-4 mission. It had sent a strong team to the US in the weeks leading up to the launch, which was closely involved with the launch operations. We will see more such cooperation in the future. The ISS is already on extension and is due to be decommissioned by 2030. The ISS itself is an excellent model of international cooperation, with several countries contributing to its creation and operations. India is not a part of it. But a replacement for the ISS will most likely have India as a key partner. India has plans to build its own space station by 2035. It is not yet clear, but the possibility of India's space station becoming a component of the future replacement for the ISS cannot be discounted. Space stations will increasingly become the hub of research activities and scientific experiments that require microgravity conditions, and priority access to these would boost domestic research and development. The experience gained by Shukla can have more immediate benefits, and not just as inputs in the Gaganyaan programme. Shukla, and the three other astronauts selected for the Gaganyaan mission, had to undergo training in Russia because India does not have those facilities. Shukla and Prasanth Balakrishnan Nair, who was on standby for the Axiom-4 mission, also went through advanced training at a NASA facility. Their knowledge and experience can now be utilised to set up an advanced astronaut training facility in India, particularly since we are embarking on a human spaceflight programme. This facility can be opened on commercial terms to other countries as well. The opportunities are immense, and Shukla's flight just offers a glimpse into what the future holds for India's space programme. The writer is former director, ISRO Satellite Centre, Bengaluru
Time of India
2 days ago
- Science
- Time of India
Shubhanshu Shukla docking Space Station Live Updates: Dragon connects to space station; hatch opening soon
Shubhanshu Shukla docking Space Station Live Updates: Axiom Mission 4, or Ax-4, is the fourth private space mission to the ISS organised by Axiom Space in partnership with SpaceX and NASA. Group Captain Sudhanshu Shukla of the Indian Air Force is joined by mission commander and former NASA astronaut Peggy Whitson, along with Poland's Slawosz Uznanski-Wisniewski and Hungary's Tibor Kapu. The mission also marks a return to space for both Poland and Hungary. The crew is set to spend two weeks aboard the ISS conducting around 60 scientific experiments in areas like plant biology, muscle health, and microbial studies in microgravity. The Axiom-4 mission is more than just a scientific endeavour; it stands as a powerful symbol of India's emergence as a global technology leader. It reflects the country's growing capability to drive space innovation, champion sustainability, and play a pivotal role in international scientific collaborations. Once aboard the International Space Station (ISS), Group Captain Sudhanshu Shukla will lead groundbreaking research in the field of food and space nutrition. These experiments, developed through a partnership between the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and the Department of Biotechnology (DBT), with support from NASA, are designed to advance knowledge of sustainable life-support systems, an essential component of future long-duration space missions. A key focus of the research is to investigate how microgravity and space radiation affect edible microalgae, a nutrient-rich and high-potential food source for deep space exploration. Scientists will assess critical growth parameters and study transcriptomic, proteomic, and metabolomic changes in various algal species, comparing their behaviour in space to that on Earth. The results could have far-reaching implications for developing efficient, sustainable food sources for astronauts on future interplanetary missions. Follow TOI for live updates:
Time of India
2 days ago
- Science
- Time of India
Axiom-4 astronaut crew: Spacewalker, fighter pilot, skyjumper, & radiation specialist
Each Axiom-4 astronaut brings unique expertise, from long-duration spaceflight to cutting-edge engineering, forging ambitious bold frontiers in private human spaceflight . Peggy Whitson , 65 | Mission Commander She boasts the most extensive flight record of any American or female astronaut, having spent 675 days in space across three ISS missions and Axiom Mission 2. She twice commanded ISS, performed 10 spacewalks totalling over 60 hours. The first woman to head Nasa's Astronaut Office and to command a private spaceflight, she has a doctorate in biochemistry. With 38 years of service, she now directs human spaceflight at AxiomSpace. Shubhanshu Shukla, 39 | Mission Pilot by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Never turn off your computer again, if you own a mouse Panzer Rush Play Now Undo Shubhanshu Shukla was chosen as one of four astronauts for Isro's Gaganyaan spaceflight . Born in 1985, he was commissioned into the IAF fighter wing in 2006 and has amassed over 2,000 flight hours. Selected in 2019 for astronaut training at Star City in Russia, Shukla completed rigorous scientific, technical and survival programmes under Russian tutors. Slawosz Uznanski-Wisniewski, 41 | Mission Specialist Slawosz Uznanski-Wisniewski, an engineer from Poland, earned a place in ESA's 2022 Astronaut Reserve from over 22,500 applicants. Holding dual master's degrees from Lodz University of Technology and Universite de Nantes, and a doctorate in radiation-tolerant space systems from Aix-Marseille University, he combines academic expertise with practical experience at CERN. As Reliability Expert and later engineer in charge of the Large Hadron Collider, he oversaw continuous operations of the world's most powerful particle accelerator. Tibor Kapu, 34 | Mission Specialist Tibor Kapu, a mechanical engineer from Hungary, was selected in 2023 for the Hungarian to Orbit programme from 247 candidates. Born in 1991, he earned bachelor's and master's degrees in mechanical engineering and polymer technology at Budapest University of Technology and Economics. His career spans automotive hybrid battery development, pharmaceutical logistics, and space radiation protection research at an aerospace firm. He's an avid skydiver with 38 jumps and half-marathon runner.
